Chris Elmore MP for Bridgend & Porthcawl has welcomed the UK Government’s new Road Safety Strategy, which aims to cut deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.
After more than a decade of Conservative inaction, the UK has fallen behind much of Europe on road safety, with 22 European countries making greater progress in reducing fatalities. Britain has slipped from third to fourth in European rankings, and around four people still lose their lives on our roads every day — many in collisions that could have been prevented.
Labour’s Road Safety Strategy marks a clear break from that failure, setting out a comprehensive plan to tackle the leading causes of serious collisions, including drink and drug driving, speeding, mobile phone use, unsafe vehicles and poor road design.
The strategy includes consultations on lowering the drink-drive limit, which has remained unchanged since 1967, tougher measures for repeat offenders, and the potential introduction of alcohol interlock devices.
To improve safety for young drivers, the Government will consult on a three or six-month minimum learning period, while mandatory eyesight testing for drivers over 70 will also be considered as the population ages.
Additional measures include stronger action against illegal ‘ghost’ number plates, uninsured driving and vehicles without a valid MOT, the introduction of 18 new vehicle safety technologies, and the creation of a Road Safety Investigation Branch and Board to oversee delivery.
Chris Elmore MP for Bridgend & Porthcawl said:
“Too many families have suffered heartbreak because of preventable road collisions, and for far too long road safety was allowed to slip down the agenda.
This strategy shows real ambition and determination to change that. It’s about safer streets, safer vehicles and a safer future — and it will make a real difference for people travelling, working and living across Bridgend & Porthcawl.”
Labour’s strategy is built on the internationally recognised Safe System approach, which recognises that while human error is inevitable, deaths and serious injuries are not. It ensures road design, vehicle safety, enforcement and education work together to protect all road users.
The strategy underlines Labour’s commitment to safer communities, easing pressure on the NHS, and ending the complacency that characterised the Conservatives’ record on road safety.
